gribusiness contributes more than $1.5 billion to the regional economy of western Michigan, and the new Michigan Hop Network hopes to assist hop farmers in adding to that total. With a startup grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, local economic development agencies joined with hop farmers to form the only network of its kind outside the Pacific Northwest, the hop-growing hub of the US. The organization wants to strengthen the craft brewing supply chain through education, research, marketing and sharing best practices in hop cultivation. According to the Michigan State University Extension, over 200 acres (81 hectares) of commercial hops were grown in Michigan in 2013 with more acreage planned in 2014. The state also has 10 hop-harvesting centers and eight processing centers. Local hop growers supply much of their product to Michigan craft brewers.

ix US cities — San Diego; Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Portland, Ore.; San Antonio and Seattle — were selected as part of a pilot program developing and implementing plans to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The program is part of the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase.

The five-year program seeks to assist city leaders in repositioning their economies toward greater engagement in world markets by helping the cities promote their appeal and by cultivating strategic relationships with global partners. As part of the program, cities will develop market assessments and create plans to pursue FDI through expansions, mergers and acquisitions, and other forms of foreign investment.

PS is increasing capacity in Latin America by adding three healthcare-dedicated facilities — one in Mexico, the remaining two in São Paulo, Brazil, and Santiago, Chile. With the expansions, UPS’s network in the region reaches nearly 70 percent of the total healthcare consumption and manufacturing markets in Latin America. The 78,000-sq.-ft. (7,246-sq.-m.) facility in Mexico opened in April; the remaining facilities will be completed later in 2014. UPS also expanded its footprint north of the US border, adding 18,000 sq. ft. (1,672 sq. m.) of cGMP (current good manufacturing practices)-validated healthcare space to its facility in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The new space allows UPS to provide one-day time-in-transit to most of its end-customers in the Saskatchewan-British Columbia corridor.

anovas, a California-based life sciences accelerator, announced it was relocating business operations to a 29,000-sq.-ft. (2,694-sq.-m.), biotech-ready facility in San Rafael in order to accommodate the company’s growth and planned expansion. The Sanovas portfolio of companies focus their attention on developing minimally invasive surgical products allowing physicians to diagnose and perform therapeutic procedures in spaces as small as one millimeter in diameter.

The new building includes R&D labs, operating rooms, clean rooms and light-industrial warehouse space. A previous tenant of the new building invested $10 million into facility improvements, equipment and technology, which Sanovas will put to use.

erman industrial hose manufacturer Norres is building its first US plant in South Bend, Ind. The company, which develops, produces and sells industrial hoses for pharmaceutical, food production and plastics industries will invest $1.87 million to purchase, renovate and equip a 30,000-square-foot (2,787-sq.-m.) facility. The expansion will create up to 32 new jobs by 2018.

“After an extensive site search, Norres chose Indiana for this factory because of its decisive advantages of location, especially its central geographical position that will make it an optimal transportation hub,” said Burkhard Mollen, chairman of Norres. The company expects to be operational by the end of May.

rince Global Sports will relocate its corporate headquarters from New Jersey to commercial property in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Ga. The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-performance racquet sports equipment and apparel. Prince CEO Mike Ballardie called Atlanta a “perfect fit,” citing the city’s strong workforce and proximity to world-class Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Ballardie said the company took note of Atlanta’s thriving tennis community. Over 80,000 men, women and children are active participants in Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) leagues throughout the metro area. Ballardie also announced Prince was relocating the company’s product research, development and player servicing activities to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., site of the recently opened Prince Innovation Center.